The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Gerbera plant botanically known as Gerbera×hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Lekgerwat’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Pijnacker, The Netherlands during May 2006. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Gerbera cultivars that are freely flowering with large flowers.
The new Gerbera cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Gerbera×hybrida breeding line designated DAAF 90, not patented, characterized by its double-type, neon-rose colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Gerbera×hybrida breeding line designated AF 730, not patented, characterized by its double-type, salmon-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and vigorous, upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during May 2007 in a controlled environment at Pijnacker, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by tissue culture propagation in a controlled environment since May 2007 at Pijnacker, The Netherlands has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.